Cheap branded goods
As one of the stores operating under the name "Vietnamese export goods" - fashion items printed and embossed with the logos of foreign brands, sold at unusually cheap prices compared to genuine goods, Huong Jeans VNXK is a prominent name in the Vietnamese export goods (VNXK) business community in Hanoi.
Located on Ton Duc Thang street (Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam ward), Huong Jeans VNXK store is always bustling with customers. On the social network Facebook, hundreds, even thousands of orders are publicly posted by the owner every day.
In the role of a customer who needs to buy fashion items at a store on Tay Son street, after choosing a few products of famous foreign brands such as MLB, HM, ZARA..., the reporter went to the checkout table. Notably, the products here are cheap, only 1/3, even 1/5 compared to the price listed at genuine stores.
According to the staff's explanation, these items "are all exported goods "smuggled" from production units that are long-term acquaintances of store owners, so the price is extremely good, so here it is called cheap branded goods," said a staff member at Tay Son 222 store.
When ordering a batch of fashion products for the purpose of giving gifts to company employees, a staff member of Huong Jeans VNXK said that the store could not issue sales invoices: "My house is crowded but it's just a store, it's not a company, so I can't issue any invoices, if you buy, I'll only issue sales invoices, and VAT is fine, for so many years buyers have defaulted to that and no one has asked to issue them.
On the fanpage of Huong Jeans VNXK, the name and account number of the store owner are all public. However, it is noteworthy that when buying directly at the store, payments are required by employees to be transferred to another personal account, not the store owner's name.
If you buy goods, you can transfer money to this QR code, you don't have to write any content, just transfer it in, no content is allowed," the store staff said.
How to approach buyers and the secret to "making a living
As one of the first VNXK stores to emerge in the Capital, to reach customers, Huong Jeans VNXK created many closed customer groups, regularly organizing livestream sales sessions. By advertising products of famous fashion brands at cheap prices, the live broadcasts of this store attract hundreds, thousands of viewers and continuously "finalize orders".
The store's fanpage regularly posts new product designs. The main items are products that are creating "trends" for brands to attract buyers.
Not only Huong Jeans, with this model, a series of VNXK stores have existed for many years in the market, not registering for business, not fulfilling tax obligations and selling goods with signs of counterfeiting, imitation, and trademark infringement for a long time.
To avoid functional forces and ensure absolute safety, many stores do not open direct sales points but only deliver goods to customers.
My house does not sell goods at the store, if you have a need, choose a sample and I will ship it to your place," fanpage named An Chi VNXK said.
Although most buyers clearly understand that the items advertised as "smuggling goods", "VNXK goods from factory", "cheap brand goods"... are actually goods with signs of counterfeiting and imitation of brands, but because they can buy branded goods at prices from only a few hundred thousand VND, many customers still accept it, thereby forming a large market share for sellers.
According to Lawyer Dang Van Cuong, Chinh Phap Law Office (Hanoi Bar Association): "The general principle is that once participating in business activities, organizations and individuals must register for business and fully fulfill their obligations to declare and pay taxes according to the provisions of law.
If you do not register for business, do not declare and pay taxes, do not report to competent authorities, it is determined to be an act of violating legal regulations on enterprises and management of business and service activities," lawyer Cuong said.
According to the Law on Intellectual Property (amended and supplemented in 2022), the act of using signs that overlap or are similar to the extent of causing confusion with the trademark being protected for goods without the owner's permission is an act of infringing industrial property rights.
Decree 98/2020/ND-CP, amended and supplemented by Decree 17/2022/ND-CP, clearly stipulates that the trading of counterfeit goods and goods infringing intellectual property rights may be subject to administrative sanctions, confiscation of exhibits, and forced destruction of violating goods.
According to the 2019 Law on Tax Administration and guiding documents for implementation, organizations and individuals doing business in goods have the obligation to register for business, declare, pay taxes and issue invoices according to regulations. The 2024 Value Added Tax Law (Law No. 48/2024/QH15), effective from July 1, 2025, clearly stipulates that the sale of goods and the provision of services must make legal invoices, transparent revenue, and non-cash payments for transactions eligible for tax deduction.
Not issuing invoices, using personal accounts to receive money from sales to conceal revenue may be subject to administrative violations on tax, and may even be considered for criminal responsibility for tax evasion according to the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017, if the constituent elements are sufficient.
